


Not just a memory

by ormr_kin



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/F, F/M, Feel-good, M/M, Mass Effect 3, Other, Post-Canon, Post-Mass Effect 3, a good ending post mass effect 3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-05-14 21:54:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19281937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ormr_kin/pseuds/ormr_kin
Summary: to preface:this takes place in a canon right after the events of mass effect 3, where shepard chooses the destroy ending and lives. mostly, this work is personal, if not to just make me feel better about the very cop-outty ending to the series. i love this series and i don't want it to die with shepard... so surprise surprise, she doesn't die :) this is going to be very long, and detail the events that take place after the blast that destroys the relays.the shepard in this fic's name is venus. she's a paragon sentinel who romanced liara in me1 and garrus in me2 and me3.





	1. aftermath

 

The Normandy, damaged as it was, still had working FTL drives. The crew could find peace in that. They couldn’t travel near as fast as they could with the mass relays, not even close, but by Joker’s and Tali’s rough estimates they had landed on a dextro-friendly garden world not far from the Sol system. The crew was lucky - had they landed on a levo-amino planet, they wouldn’t have been able to procure any agricultural samples for regrowth… wherever they were going.

 

The majority of the crew stood in the war room, trying to gather their wits as they accelerated to FTL, albeit slowly. Traynor paced around the information station, her expression weary as she assessed all of them.

 

Tali. Save for a minor suit malfunction, she was fine. Still running a fever, but it would pass in time. Thankfully, the Normandy still had a huge reserve of technology to aid them in their next steps, whatever they may be. The quarian stood at attention, her small frame looking much larger as she crossed her arms behind her back, ready to negotiate.

 

Liara. Her expression was pained, but she was otherwise fine. Tired, from using her biotics to help recharge the FTL drive, but a snack had fixed that up just fine. As the yeoman, Traynor had seen to that, even if the asari hadn’t wanted her to. Rations were limited for the time being, but they should be able to lug the crates out of the cargo hold and into the mess.

 

Ash. Still kicking, even after all this time. Traynor admired her resilience. Out of all of them, she seemed the least bothered. Maybe it was the Spectre training - she carried a similar air to the Commander, now… but they all tried not to think about that. She hadn’t tried to take up the helm of leader - none of them really had. It just didn’t seem right without Shepard.

 

Javik. She couldn’t believe he was still alive. Despite his wishes being fulfilled, he looked ready and willing to help rebuild. Traynor hoped he was up to the task, and that he’d maybe stop treating the rest of the crew like subordinates. He stood silently on one end of the room, his eyes tracing the room’s movements. Traynor hoped his ‘sense of touch’ would come in handy, considering a lot of their scanning equipment was busted.

 

James Vega. Traynor always had a little soft spot for him. He was so… down to earth, compared to the rest of the crew. ‘Just a little guy,’ he’d always told her. Just a soldier trying to win the war. He was working on fixing a minor problem with a venting array… that EDI could have probably fixed in minutes. Traynor wished she was here. He had one earbud in that led to an old mp3 player, a still-working relic from Earth he’d brought to space with him. She was surprised that, out of everything, the simple device still worked.

 

Joker. He’d been crying, she could tell. His eyes were puffy in just the right way. Traynor patted him gently on the back as she passed him, and he just gave her a hard look. They’d all suffered losses today. EDI was… unfortunate, but this war had hardened all of them. She’d been a necessary sacrifice. They all had to tell themselves that, even if it was a good friend that they’d lost. Traynor was glad he was still up and about, even with a broken rib… and maybe a broken heart, too. Nothing that time couldn’t mend. It would have to do.

 

Last was Vakarian. Traynor astutely noticed he wasn’t around, which didn’t surprise her in the slightest. He’d refused to add Shepard’s name to the list of the dead, looking them all hard in the eyes. “She is  _ not _ dead,” He’d announced. “I know she’s not. I can feel it.”

 

So they left it down, and hoped Garrus’ gut was right, regardless of evidence to convince them of the contrary. Traynor herself wasn’t so sure. Either way, he took the loss hard, harder than any of them. They’d all lost a friend, but Garrus… he’d lost a lot more than that. They’d all tried to be respectful about it, but as time went on over the few days they were moored, they slowly began to lose faith that Shepard was still out there somewhere. The turian’s mood blackened, but he surely didn’t lose hope.

 

“Tali,” She said, nodding over to her. The quarian jumped, looking her direction. “Can you go find Garrus? We need him down here to plan our next move.”

 

“Agreed,” Liara offered. “He can’t be far, as big as the Normandy is. And you…”

 

Tali stopped her with a raised hand. “I know. Save for… well, him and I are close. I know.” Nobody mentioned those omitted words. It had seemed to become a mutual, silent agreement not to mention her name. Not until they found her body. The quarian cast a sweeping gaze over all of them before leaving, travelling through the science center and to the elevator.

 

Tali’Zorah’s sensors, though they were damaged, picked up movement above her, and she took the elevator up to where she thought he’d be. Shepard’s cabin. It was a place most of them had only visited once, but Garrus had been foregoing the bunks for weeks prior to the mission. ‘Shepard’s orders’, apparently. Considering she looked minutely less exhausted in the days after, the crew considered it an improvement on her typically sour morning mood. 

 

She’d always loved coffee. Couldn’t live without it, she’d always say. Tali tried not to think about it.

 

She found the cabin locked when the elevator arrived, and she sighed, overriding the encryption by hand. Even now, it came as easy to her as it had in school on the flotilla. Tali’s heart panged at the thought of them. She hoped they were okay. If anything, they had the greatest chance for survival, even if the geth were gone. Plenty to rebuild from, with help. If they could get it.

 

The door slid open. “Garrus?”

 

Just silence. 

 

“Garrus.”

 

A cracked, rough voice came from deeper within the cabin. “Leave me alone, Tali. I don’t need your sympathy.”

 

“I didn’t come to give you  _ sympathy, _ ” she bit back, her tone having much more venom than she meant it to. “...Look. We need you down in the war room.” She took a few tentative steps into the room, sweeping it to see Garrus curled atop the bed. He had an old pair of fatigues scrunched up in his hands. Tali clenched her jaw. She really wished she could leave him to mourn, but… too much was at stake.

 

She proceeded forward, and with no protest, she sat on the bed next to him, laying a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Garrus. I really am.”

 

The turian was quiet for a moment. Then his shoulders began to shake as silent sobs wracked his body. Despite his mass, he looked so… small. Defeated. His eyes scrunched shut as he tried to stave off tears. “I want to give up, Tali. I really do. I feel…  _ pathetic _ . I don’t want to believe she’s really gone.”

 

“None of us do,” Tali said. “We need direction. You knew the Commander-”

 

“Venus.”

 

“You knew  _ Venus _ better than anyone on this ship. What would she do?”

 

Garrus was still. Then suddenly, he sat up, his gaze hard and full of fire again. “She’d go back to Earth. To try and recover people from the wreckage. Help relocate. No doubt most of the remaining population is there right now, and a lot of them _ can’t eat their food _ .” He sniffed. “We need to bring those agricultural and soil samples back. Build a greenhouse. Salvage as many rations as possible.”

 

Tali nodded, slowly. It was a sound plan. Right now, it would take months to get to Earth, but Traynor and Joker were working on a supposed solution. 

 

“So you  _ do _ know what to do.” She said, her voice lighter than before, and Garrus just growled at her, his mandibles flaring. 

 

“I know what  _ she _ would do. There’s still a thousand mountains between us and there. And hundreds of light-years, too.”   
  
“Since when did that stop us?”

 

Garrus opened his mouth to protest, but fell silent. “...You’re right. Let’s go.”

 

Tali got up to leave, but Garrus grabbed her arm. “Hey, Tali?”

 

She acknowledged him with a tilt of her head, eyes narrowing as she gazed through him. Tali wished she could give him more than just a pat on the shoulder, but… they were all exhausted now, emotionally and otherwise.

 

“No more mourning. Shepard is out there, and we’re gonna find her.”

 

“How do you know that for sure?”

 

Garrus looked out the window into the void of space. “I don’t. But I can just…  _ feel _ it, you know? It’s not something I can explain.”

 

“...Okay. I believe you.”

 

The squad was relieved to have Garrus back in the war room, especially a mote more cheerful than he’d been before. Even in his state, his pragmatism and drive was unmatched by anyone else in the crew. He leaned over the information center, poring over the local maps they’d been able to salvage from the Normandy’s scattered databases, and began to explain the course of action. They’d go to Earth, find survivors in the warzone, and evac as many as possible to more remote, habitable areas. Everyone would have a job, whether it be agriculture, diplomacy, or keeping the peace. His tone was final, and he imparted upon the crew that this was most likely the only course of action available to them. “We  _ have _ to find the fleets, or what’s left of them,” He said. “Whoever is calling the shots on Earth.”

 

“As much as I like the idea of going back to Earth,” Liara said, “We need to  _ get _ there first. In a way that’s perhaps a little faster than old-fashioned FTL.”

 

“You can hardly call FTL ‘old-fashioned’,” James scoffed from the edge of the room. He swore as he burnt his finger with the sauter he was wielding. “Shit. Don’t mind me. Any ideas?”

 

There was a dip in conversation for a moment. No one seemed to have any ideas. Then, a triumphant ‘a-ha!’ from where Joker and Traynor stood huddled over a terminal. 

 

“The Normandy’s quantum entanglement communicator! It’s intact!” Traynor waved a datapad wildly, her face alight with the excitement of a new discovery. Joker looked minutely less excited, but some emotion shone through his stony expression, his lips upturned just slightly.

 

“And what does that mean for us, human?” Javik, on the other side of the room, crossed his arms and glared at the humans. None of the crew could shake the feeling that he felt they were all  _ below _ him. Traynor hated that he called her ‘human’, regardless of how ‘old’ or ‘all-knowing’ he was.

 

“I was doing some research with EDI, before… well, we were able to discover a way to implement the communicator as a function of the drive core,” She began, talking quickly. “It’s hard to control, but with Joker piloting… we can travel at over a thousand times the speed of light at full power.”

 

“And now?” Liara raised a brow.

 

“Maybe a hundred, maybe two hundred. Either way…” She tapped out some calculations. “It would let us reach Earth in a week or less, as long as we aren’t interrupted and our power reserves are what I think they’re at. The only catch is that the ship can’t autopilot.”

 

“So we need someone on pilot duty constantly.” Joker came to the conclusion first, his voice weary. “I can do it.”

 

“No,” Garrus countered, “You can’t. Maybe a day, but not a week. We can take shifts. I’ve flown frigates before. Maybe not as big as this one, but…”

 

“ _ No one _ is flying this ship but me!” Joker’s voice was suddenly raised, and Traynor put a hand on his shoulder. They all knew how attached he was to the Normandy… and the AI that used to help him pilot it. Now, that seat was empty. Joker had made significantly less jokes since the blast hit them.

 

“I don’t think you have much of a choice,” She said. “We can’t have you passing out on us. We all need rest.”

 

Joker looked furious, but after a moment, his expression softened, and he relented. “Fine. Garrus, come with me. I need to teach you the Normandy’s high-speed maneuver controls if we’re gonna avoid flying through a gas giant.”

 

Joker limped back through to the CIC, Garrus behind. Traynor reminded herself to keep an ear out for yelling on the bridge.

 

“How long will it take to implement?” Liara asked Traynor, her gaze searching. 

 

“Not long, with Tali’s help,” She said, turning to the quarian. “Mind giving me a hand? You know the drive core better than anyone.” A datapad was tossed across the room, and Tali caught it, poring over it. It was obvious by the way she shifted from one foot to another that she was intrigued, excited.

 

“It’s going to be a hack job, but I think we can get it done in maybe a day or two.” She scrolled through the datapad. “As expensive as these things are… keelah. They’re so powerful. If we could somehow replicate this technology on a large scale...” Her eyes sparkled behind her helmet. 

 

“We might be able to restore some power to the relays. Or at least rebuild them.” Traynor finished. “If this works… then we might be able to use quantum entanglement to move mass on a large scale. It takes an immense amount of power, but…”

 

“Let’s not worry about that for now.” Liara had her own omni-tool open, trying to read through the logs she’d salvaged before the crash landing. “We need to focus on the  _ now _ , so to speak.”

 

“We should get down to the bridge,” Traynor said, and Tali came up beside her, handing back the research. “That damned thing is heavy, though. James!” 

 

Vega immediately jumped to attention from where he was working. “Yes, Com- I mean, Specialist Traynor.” Did he almost call her…? Traynor tried not to think about it. 

 

“Unscrew the QEC from the comm hub and bring it down to Engineering.”

 

“Can do,” He replied, turning and disappearing into the side room.

 

“I’m going to see if I can get a full assessment of the ship,” Liara stated, tapping on her omni-tool. The display was shot, a little dim, but she could at least still run scans with it. “Meet on the crew deck for dinner?”

 

“Aye-aye,” Tali responded. “I’ll make sure to get word to the rest of the crew.”

 

“And what will  _ I _ do in all of this?”

 

Javik crossed his arms, a scowl painted on his face as he appraised the women in the room. Ash, silent until now, raised a hand tentatively. “I was going to try and clean up the cargo hold,” She said. “There’s a bunch of crates of rations and equipment down there we’re gonna need.”

 

“That is agreeable. Lead the way.”

 

The war room quickly emptied, the entire crew at work to get the ship back into running order. For the first time after the blast, even without Shepard, they were really working together as a team. It was something about the Normandy - like it held her spirit. It was why Garrus felt so strongly about her fate, and why Traynor had taken the chance of digging up old research. It was as if the Normandy was still a part of her, and as long as it lived, so did she, even if it was in memory. However...

 

Across the galaxy, a woman took a breath she’d never thought she’d take. 

 

She wasn’t just a memory after all.


	2. awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is probably a teeny-weensy bit divergent from the extended cut, but... i don't really care! haha.

Shepard's world was dark. As she flew from the remaining pieces of the Citadel, like a shooting star careening down to Earth, she was sure she was going to die. She felt the surge of a kinetic barrier as it shielded her fall, and the faint beeping of her own shields as a pylon came close enough to charge them.  _Now I'll crash to Earth and bleed out from the impact,_ her thoughts, jumbled as they were, told her. No death without suffering.

 

She could sense the ground coming closer and closer, but her eyes wouldn't tell her up from down.  _You, too, are part synthetic,_ the Catalyst had said. Her cybernetics had been stripped of power. So she'd die blind, too. As if things could get any worse. 

 

It didn't matter, though. The Reapers were dead, and now the galaxy could rebuild in their ashes. The machines that had ruled over them were no more, and now she could rest. For a moment, she thought of her squad. They'd go on without her, to do things maybe even better than the feats she accomplished. Tali would handle refurbishing destroyed tech, she was sure. Wrex would help rebuild the krogan. Liara would aid in agricultural endeavors. Garrus...

 

She thought of the turian that had endeared her so much over her journey. Shepard had never thought she would encounter someone so dedicated, so prepared to sacrifice for the cause. He was a product of this war as much as she was, trying to find good as much as she could, even when she could do nothing. 

 

When she felt herself breach the lower atmosphere, the  _pop_ of her kinetic barriers shattering made her ears ring. Her suffering wasn't over, though - another falling ship entered her proximity, and she could sense its mass, feel its barriers breaching her own as hers steadily recharged. She was surprised, after all this, that they still worked. They hadn't up on the Citadel, but they'd been depleted completely. The shield pylons from the massive amount of Alliance ships in orbit had managed to give her a saving grace. 

 

For a moment, she had a glimmer of hope, and it sparked into a fire in her heart as the ground neared.  _She would not die here. Her life, her mission - it was not over._ Venus Shepard would not rest until she chose to. Slowly, painstakingly, she hit the button for her tech-armor, and it flared to life seconds before impact.

 

Shepard screamed when she hit the ground, and her world went silent.

 

\---

 

"Damn, it's  _devastated..._ there's no way anyone survived this!" 

 

"We aren't here for bodies, we're here for tech. We need as much salvage as we can get if we're going to get more med stations up and running. Move!"

 

"Yes sir!"

 

Pounding feet first alerted Shepard to someone in her proximity. She was still slipping in and out of consciousness, and the noise and vibrations made her want to go under again. Her ears began to ring as her brain sluggishly tried to gain awareness. Breathing was shallow and pained - one of her ribs was definitely broken, a shattered point digging into her bruised lung. She felt like her whole  _body_ was just one big bruise. Rasping out a groan, she tried to roll over, but found herself unable to.

 

"I've got a body!" 

 

The pounding got closer, and Shepard's ears rang louder, trying to compensate for a burst eardrum. She wished she could just close her eyes and have  _silence_ again. Her vessel hurt too much.

 

"My omni-tool's got life signs!"

 

"Human! Alliance?"

 

"Yes- wait. Hey! Come here! I've got something!"

 

She could feel presences around her. Warm bodies, alive. The voices told her Salarian, maybe one human.

 

"My god," one of them said. "It's Commander Shepard! She's alive!" There was a chorus of cheers, and as flattered as Shepard might have been, she just wanted them to  _shut up_.

 

"I can't believe it," Another said. "She's in critical condition. Needs medical care immediately. Get her back to the med station! Go!"

 

Thin arms lifted her, and she whined with the pain of her joins grinding against each other. "Broken rib, broken femur, broken collarbone... hell. Everything's broken."

 

"But she's alive. Get her back  _now!_ " 

 

"Yes, Maelon! We're going!"

 

"I'll meet you there. Need to find something. Administer medigel immediately. Start looking through bodies for compatible organ donors."

 

The salarian forces began to move, and Shepard once again slipped into the abyss.

 

\---

 

Shepard slipped in and out of consciousness. Her vision had returned, though blurry, the last time she'd come out of her coma. Sedative-induced, from what she could tell. It was the same way she'd felt when she was being rebuilt on the Lazarus. Occasionally, she'd heard buzzing and whirring, the sound electronics being configured. Those sounds often buzzed into her brain like flies, rousing her, and she came to despise the sound. It felt like they were trying to dig her brain out with a drill. Every time she'd awaken, she'd see the direction of one of the figures above her pointing to a terminal, and then her lucidity would slip away from her once again. 

  
Mostly, she dreamed.

 

She was in the forest again, but the child - the catalyst - was gone. She was alone. There was a bench, but instead of cowering behind it, or chasing someone to it, she settled down on it, crossing her legs and looking out onto the void. The forest melted away and left a beach, a wide expanse of ocean before her. Seagulls called, and she sighed happily. Shepard had always loved the ocean. 

 

For what seemed like an eternity, she watched the ebb and flow of the waves. The way they rolled over each other, all eventually evening out as they reached the shore. Calm. peaceful. She stood and began to walk the beach, feeling the sand between her now-bare toes. 

 

It was a while before she realized the ocean had disappeared from her peripheral. When she turned, she mended her assumption:  _receded_. And now the ocean was careening towards her in an enormous wave, black and dark and suffocating.

 

The tsunami swallowed her, and though she wanted to scream, the water filled her lungs too quickly; the vision faded and she was left in the darkness again. 

 

\---

 

Shepard shot awake with a start, and winced at a tugging pain in her arms. She had tried to sit up when her nightmare had awoken her, but no less than eight tubes held her in place on a rickety hospital bed. Track marks traced her wrists and forearms, dark and angry, and she suddenly felt the urge to vomit. She tried, but nothing came as she hacked and coughed over one side of the bed, stomach void of mass to expel. Her head felt as if it was stuffed full of cotton, but... at least she could see clearly now.

 

A Salarian poked his head in the room, expression relaxed until he saw Shepard tugging and prodding at her attachments. His eyes widened and he nearly slipped and fell as he rushed back down a corridor outside of her vision. "Maelon! Shepard's awake! Shepard's up!" His voice slowly faded as he receded deeper into the facility. Maelon... she recognized that name, but from where?

  
Where  _was_ she, anyways?

 

Shepard took note of her surroundings. The room was small, but packed full of tech. None of it was recognizable due to a large majority of it being salvage. She counted at least a dozen IV bags filled with fluids of various colors scattered about the room, and her bed graced the middle of it. It was lumpy and uncomfortable, yet she would have loved nothing more than to roll over and sleep again. She felt like she hadn't slept in days, despite having just woken. 

 

Another Salarian entered, and Shepard realized why she remembered the name. Maelon was Mordin's assistant, the Salarian who had spearheaded a less-than-ethical genophage cure on Tuchanka. He approached her and she instinctively reached to her side for her pistol to find it bare. Completely. Not even clothes, the only thing covering her being a flimsy, papery hospital gown. Her stomach rolled and she looked up to stare him down, her brow furrowed.

 

Maelon just put his hands up. "Don't look at me like that. If my squad hadn't found you, you would have bled out at the impact site."

 

"I..." Shepard coughed as her vocal cords strained to produce sound. She felt a wetness at the back of her throat, tasting iron. "Agh!  _Fuck_."

 

"Take it slow," he said, tapping on the terminal near the bed. "You've been out for a few days. Just be glad the best scientists left on Earth came to try and keep you alive. Let me tell you, you really gave us a run for our money." He chuckled a little. "Glad you're up and running. Thankfully, your cybernetics are still intact, for the most part. Took us forever to get the optics working. Let me know if you have any near-sightedness."

 

"...I thought for sure I was dead. What are you doing here?"

 

"Oh, you were. Almost. Your body's like nothing I've ever seen. Regeneration is impeccable. Your implants may very well have saved your life, even if they were completely depleted when we got to you. The organs we had to replace have adapted incredibly quickly, and your broken bones are already well on their way to being completely healed. You had a little help, of course." Maelon sounded proud. "I'm the top scientist in this... sector, if you could call it that. I was running a clinic on Omega until you liberated it. Then, I came to Earth to... fight to good fight." The line of his mouth narrowed. "Wanted to make up for my mistakes."

 

"Earth... how is it?" Shepard had a thousand questions, but she tried to take it slow. Her head was already pounding. 

 

"Earth was saved, thanks to the vast amount of forces who collected in orbit," He replied, squinting as he read over a report. He still hadn't made eye contact with her. "However, the mass relays were destroyed. Anyone who came here and didn't perish in the final battle is now moored here. Earth has become a refugee world." 

 

"...Destroyed? Wh... where's the Normandy? Where's my crew?"

 

"As far as we know, they retreated through the relay not long before the Crucible was fired." Shepard's heart sank into her stomach, and she clenched a fist. She'd make sure they weren't stranded for long.

 

"Are any comm buoys up?"

 

"Without the relays, no. We're working on trying to set some up now, but long-distance space travel is...  _problematic_ without mass relay technology. So, for now, all we have is quantum entanglement." Maelon's omni-tool beeped, and he paused in his work to answer. "Oh. It looks like the Admiral wants to speak with you. He was pleased that we were able to recover you." There was that self-satisfied tone again. Shepard realized that she could really come to accept that as par for the course with Salarians.

 

"I..." Her chest tightened. The Normandy was stranded out in space, and she couldn't do shit about it, still tied into a hospital bed like this. "How long have I been out?"

 

"A few days. But don't even think about trying to get up yet. Your femurs are still mending and your lung was recently replaced. You are in no position to be moving."

 

Shepard huffed, and Maelon just gave her an exasperated look. "I know it's stressful, but you need to rest." He handed Shepard a small holo-pad. "Here. Hackett can fill you in."

 

She took the pad and Maelon left the room. From what she remembered, post-wartime attitudes were usually a lot more bitter. Maybe it was because they were all on the same side, but she silently hoped they'd all gained a little compassion. Maybe they'd make less mistakes, keep someone from making another Reaper. She tried not to think about the implications of her decision with the Catalyst. That was a war for another day.

 

The holopad blinked, and the look on Hackett's face as he loaded in was indescribable, his eyes wide and his brows furrowed. "Well I'll be damned," He said. "You  _made_ it. Mother of all suicide missions, and you're still here."

 

Shepard found it in herself to laugh, despite everything else running through her mind. How many survivors? Was London saved?  _Where was the fucking Normandy?_   "Still kicking, Admiral."

 

"You look like hell, Shepard, I won't lie. I wouldn't be clearing you for combat any time soon. But..." He paused for a moment. "Hopefully, there is no more combat. At least not for a long, long time."

 

"Don't you think I'm quitting now, Admiral," She said, her tone firm again. She wasn't done till she said so. "We still have a recon mission to carry out. Give me a ship, and -"

 

"Not sure if Maelon gave you his assessment, but you're by no means ready for spacefaring, Shepard. The Normandy is currently unreachable. When we ping its QEC it's constantly showing a busy signal."

 

"A busy signal? That doesn't make any sense."

  
"All we can glean from that is that the Normandy is still up and running, somewhere a few lightyears away from the edge of the Sol system. Their trajectory, recently, has been changing, but we're having trouble getting a lock."

 

"So they're moving." Her heart quickened. 

  
"We don't know for sure."

  
"But they haven't been destroyed!"

 

"...No, but-"

 

Shepard slammed a fist down onto the bedrail, anger bubbling up inside her. "Then I  _have_ to go after them! They're my crew, Hackett, I can't just sit around and hope they're not dead!" She couldn't just do  _nothing_. She'd go crazy.

 

"Shepard." Hackett waited for her to silence, and began again. "Your crew's resourceful. I'd bet that they're trying their damnedest to get back to Sol right now. Before I'm even letting you out of this facility, Maelon needs to give you an all-clear." 

 

"Ugh!" She threw her head back, staring up at the ceiling. "Fine. I guess I don't have a choice."

  
"No, you don't. Get some rest, Shepard. You deserve it. I need to go take care of some requisitions. We have a helluva lot of turians on-planet that have no renewable food source. We've been trying our best to start greenhouses from quarian liveship samples but it's taken a lot of bartering." He sighed, and Shepard realized that he looked exhausted. It only made her more angry. She had to stand on the sidelines now, and it was  _infuriating_. "Hackett out."

 

The holo-vid closed, and Shepard sighed, tossing it to the end of the bed and crossing her arms over her chest. She felt like a child, pouting like this, but it wasn't like she had anything better to do. All this fighting, and she still didn't feel like she'd won. It might have been selfish, but...

 

No. She'd saved the whole damn galaxy, and she deserved a little peace of mind in knowing her crew was safe. Knowing her  _friends_ were safe.

 

\---

 

"Day three of our descent into Sol. The crew's getting tired, but we're still going. Every time we solve one issue with the ship, another arises. The Alliance keeps trying to ping us with the QEC, which is causing trajectory problems. Hopefully, we can at least end up in orbit. Right now, I'm just hoping we can all get through this without strangling each other."

 

Garrus closed his omni-tool, storing the log away in his personal files as he leaned back on his bunk in the crew's quarters. He'd just finished his 'shift', Joker being roused out of fitful sleep to take over the Normandy's controls. A drink later and he was feeling pleasantly relaxed, but he doubted he'd be able to get shuteye anytime soon. Shepard's face seemed to be burned into his eyelids and he just couldn't take it. 

 

"You should be sleeping," Tali said as she slipped into the room, taking a seat in one of the chairs. Another member of the crew, one of the engineers, was sleeping across from her, and Tali lowered her voice a little. "Oops. Thought you were alone."

  
"No one's ever alone on this ship, especially when a good part of it is blocked off by power outages."

 

Tali shrugged. "The QEC takes a lot of power to get a whole damn _frigate_ going. Though I think we've made a breakthrough with that thing. Might have to apply for a patent once we get back on Earth." She chuckled weakly. That is, if they made it to Earth. The Normandy was losing power faster than they expected. On the final descent, they'd likely all be confined to the bridge to conserve as much power as possible and not burn out the life support systems. 

 

"Mmm. Wanna go dig into the whiskey?"

 

"You  _always_ want to do that."

  
"Well, so do you."

 

The sat in silence for a moment. The whole crew had been drinking quite a lot. Alcohol staved off hunger as they rationed the little food they pulled up from the cargo bay. Even less for Garrus and Tali, what with their specialized diets. The situation wasn't ideal, but hopefully... 

 

"This will all be over soon. But right now, I want a drink." Garrus sighed. They were burning out fast. It wouldn't be much longer. They just had to keep it together.

 

They padded quietly out to the lounge, feet dragging as they walked. 

 


	3. at wit's end

"Tali, power levels are critical. We need someone to go check on the FTL drive..." Joker turned back for a moment, and Tali couldn't help but notice the dark bags under his eyes. Him and Garrus both had been coasting through various levels of grief and exhaustion. Not to mention  _starvation_. They were pretty much out of food, and even if they had only a few hours until they breached Earth's atmosphere, they were all at each other's throats. Especially Garrus - he'd foregone eating to let Tali have a decent, sanitized meal, and he was paying the price. She'd never seen him sleep so heavily, especially in a high-traffic area like the bridge. They'd all taken their turns being prone on the floor, but she believed Garrus probably deserved a medal for his ability to sleep through pretty much anything. She'd say the end of the world, but... they had circumvented that. Regardless of the price.

 

Tali continually wondered if Shepard had a choice up there. Either way, she didn't care. The deed was done. Now, she just hoped she was alive - if only for Garrus' sake. He'd been much colder than normal since they'd last talked, even if he was more social now. He was definitely suppressing his feelings, she could tell as much, but it wasn't her place to try and console him any more. He needed to work through this himself.

 

"I'll go." She finally responded, casting a glance at the rest of the core crew, huddled in the cramped cockpit. "I'm the only one with a suit that can withstand the lack of pressure, anyways. Where are the oxygen canisters?"

 

"We've got one left," Liara said from her place in the copilot's seat. She had elected to measure their trajectory as they made their descent. "It might last you fifteen minutes."

 

"It'll have to do." Liara pointed her in the right direction and she grabbed it from its place against the wall, stacked atop a pile of other miscellaneous supplies. "I'll be back." Tali clipped the canister in and pinched the oxygen supply off while she still had processed air. 

 

The descent into the drive core was a quick one. The elevator wasn't operational, but it was easy to climb down from the war room. Once she passed through the door from the science center she let her canister begin to pump fresh air into her helmet. At least her enviro-suit was already equipped for zero atmo. She might come out feeling a little  _bouncy_ with the lack of pump control, but beggars couldn't be choosers. 

 

She descended the ladder all the way down into Engineering and was surprised with how  _hot_ it was. The FTL drive was probably overheating with the vast amount of power they'd be pumping into it. As per Traynor's theory, the QEC allowed them to circumvent drag from gas particles and it also gave the FTL drive a great boost in thrust. Tali was sure it was probably stressful on the drive core, if not damning it to drydock until it was heavily maintenanced. She could only imagine what the filter looked like right now.

 

It seemed the biggest issue was, in fact, the mass amount of heat the drive core was generating. A simple vent of the floor would solve the problem. Tali pulled up her console and tapped into the ship's airlock controls, all admin functionality lifted now that EDI was... gone. She gripped the edge of the terminal tightly as she sealed off the CIC and vented the cargo bay. There was a sudden woosh of air, but her mag-boots prevented her from going anywhere. She felt her helmet creak with the sudden loss of pressure. 

 

Now effectively in an 'outside' environment, her oxygen was draining much faster than before. She had to hold her breath the last descent up the ladder. "Keelah," She cursed as she surfaced, arms struggling to hoist herself onto the floor, until a three-fingered hand reached to pull her up. 

 

"You made it," Garrus said. "Didn't think you'd do it alone."

 

"You were sleeping," Tali gasped. "But it's done. Had to vent the drive core. Almost ran out of oxygen."

 

"Well, that's good." The turian glanced back up to the cockpit. "We're about thirty minutes to impact."

 

" _Impact?_ "

 

"The Normandy is going way too fast to get caught in Earth's orbit," Joker commented, his eyes still on the ship's controls. "I can slow us to survivable speeds once we have some air resistance, but it'll use up the rest of our engine power to pull out of FTL once we hit the atmosphere." He tapped a button, and there was a loud whirring as the drive core slowly began to decelerate. "It's good that you vented to drive core. If you hadn't, we'd all be cooked by the time we hit the ground."

 

"Well, that's comforting," Garrus sniffed. "Think we're gonna survive impact?"

 

"I dunno, probably?"

  
" _Probably_ isn't good enough, Joker," Liara snapped, looking over at him. "I'll make sure our trajectory at least gets us over water. Then we should be able to signal for help with the local comm system."

 

"If there even is one."

 

"Joker, of  _course there's_ a local comm system, let me explain..."

 

Tali left them to argue, and instead of sticking around, she joined Traynor at the far side of the room to gaze out the window. No fleets in sight, yet. They'd be concentrated much closer to Earth, if they were still there. 

 

"Look," she said, pointing. "That's Jupiter. The biggest gas giant in our system." Tali peered where she was gesturing to see an enormous gas giant with at least ten moons. It was a bright orange-yellow, striped with bands of denser gasses. As they passed it, she spotted an anomaly on its surface...

 

"Is that..."

 

"A storm. We call it 'the eye of Jupiter'. It's been raging long since before the dawn of humanity. We've tried sending probes in to study it, but they never come out. It's a bit of an ancient legend in some cultures." Her eyes sparkled as she watched it pass by.  "Jupiter is also the name of a Roman god. Uh... ancient human civilization. He was the god of storms, believe it or not."

 

"Makes sense," Tali responded. "We had something similar in our system. A large, blue gas giant with a storm on its surface. We never expressly investigated it, but..." She sighed. "It always fascinated me. Maybe one day I'll get to see it again."

 

She jumped when Traynor patted her gently on the back. "Don't be so pessimistic! Only a little while longer and we'll be back on Earth... and then maybe we can get in contact with the Fleet! Try and get you home!"

 

"The Fleet isn't home... not anymore. I want to go back to Rannoch. With the geth gone, though..." She clenched her jaw. "It's going to be a long, long time until it is even remotely habitable for us. I hope that I can help the Fleet secure some help with agricultural endeavors. Not many quarians really... excel with that sort of thing."

 

"I'd go if given the chance. I could probably do more good organizing communications and gathering intel there than I ever could on Earth. There's enough soldiers like me there."

 

"Don't leave your own homeworld just to help us, Traynor. They're going to need you."

 

"I wasn't born on Earth," She said, and her tone was a little bitter as she continued. "For all I know, my colony, the place where I was born... it's destroyed. Uninhabitable. I hope one day I can go back, but..." Traynor looked up at Tali, giving her a little smile. "For now, I want to help whoever needs it. Consider me on-call if you need someone with my expertise."

 

Tali appraised her for a moment, before smiling back - invisible beneath the suit, but it was the thought that counted, right? "I'll keep it in mind, Traynor. Thanks." 

 

The next twenty or so minutes passed with bated breath. The crew huddled close as they watched Joker fly closer and closer to the system's sun, planets absently passing them by and the human crew occasionally giving random facts about them. "Mars! That's where the prothean database is located. It was supposedly inhabited by single-celled organisms even before Earth was." A crewman piped up as they passed the red planet. "Ah, Venus. A classic hothouse," Chakwas said as they narrowly avoided being pulled into its orbit. "It's gorgeous on the surface, but completely uninhabitable. A shame, considering it's within the 'life zone'. Humanity would have advanced much faster with a neighboring garden world." 

 

The crew was glad for the distractions. As they approached Earth, tensions got higher and higher. Liara paced about the room and was eventually stopped by Javik, who threatened to 'cook her into a stew'. Ashley tried to backseat-fly for Joker and she got an elbow to the nose. Garrus was continually bothered by James' humming and eventually stowed away his mp3 player where he would supposedly 'never find it' - he found it within five minutes. Regardless, even crew bickering was a welcome distraction for what might be certain death as they entered Earth's atmosphere. 

 

When they hit atmo, it was like hitting a wall. Everyone except those already seated were knocked on their asses, and the Normandy system registered a hull breach in the cargo bay thanks to an asteroid. At least it was already vented. 

 

"Hold on," Joker said as he jerked on the yoke, and the entire crew held its collective breath as they began to level out over dry land. It eventually gave way to ocean, blue and endless, and it was only seconds before the wings were scraping the surface of the water.

 

They hit harder than expected. The Normandy fell like a sack of rocks into the water, sinking slightly before Joker engaged the one-G thrusters and they floated up to the surface. 

 

"Someone get on comms!" He yelled, and he frantically tried to upright themselves completely as sensors showed him water pouring into the cargo bay.

 

"On it," Liara said, tapping on her terminal. They maybe had a few minutes before water began to fill the deck they occupied.

 

"Alliance control, this is the SSV Normandy, requesting extraction. We've crash landed at the attached coordinated and need a pickup. Please respond ASAP." She set the message to repeat itself, hoping that comms were still up and someone would see it.

 

The whole crew could feel the ship sloshing back and forth, and water was beginning to pour through the air vents when they finally got a response crackling in over the intercom.

 

"We hear you, SSV Normandy. On our way to extraction zone, sit tight."

 

The crew cheered as energetically as they could. Finally, it seemed that their mission was over - at least, for the most of them. Everyone had lost something to this war -some more than others. A lot of them still had loose ends to tie up, if they even still existed.

 

For the first time, the Normandy really celebrated victory. 

 

\---

 

"Commander, have an update for you."

 

"What is it?" She asked, wincing as she pulled herself into a sitting position to appraise the young soldier delivering the message. She'd had another surgery for a ruptured intestinal tract and her morning hadn't exactly been pleasant. It seemed she was constantly in some sort of pain as she recovered from injuries most humans would've died from. Figures.

 

"We have a location lock on the Normandy." His voice was nonchalant, and Shepard almost yelled at him for not making news like this a priority.  _As much as I want to, shooting the messenger is a bad, bad idea until I can get out of here._

 

Immediately, however, she was at attention, regardless of the pain in her side. Regardless of its deliverer, she sat up at attention with a rigorous salute to her subordinate.  "What? Where? Who's onboard?"

 

Shepard had been worrying for days. Her crew  _had_ to have survived, right? It was impossible to get a completely accurate lock on their location, but they must be in-system now if they were able to contact Earth's short-range comms. 

 

"Earth. Somewhere in the Pacific. We're sending shuttles now for evac, I'll give you an update on headcount once we-"

 

"I don't want headcount," She said, gritting her teeth. "I want names."

 

"U-understood, Commander. Johnson out."

 

The holo-vid dissipated, and Shepard had half a mind to tear our her hair in frustration. She was stuck in bed at the Normandy, somehow, crashed down to Earth, her crew probably still within it.  _Probably_ being the key term. She wondered how they fared without an AI copilot.

 

Another message came minutes later. "I have names, like you asked, Commander."

  
"Give them to me."

 

"Liara T'Soni. Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. Javik. Jeff Moreau. Samantha Traynor. James Vega. Garrus Vakarian. Ashley Williams..."

 

The rest of the names faded into obscurity as her heart raced. Garrus was  _alive!_ She wished she had the energy to jump out of bed and cheer with relief. The fact that they both survived this... she was gonna have him get her out of here, dammit, and they could find their own path to take from there. Shepard was thoroughly sick of the hospital bed. 

 

"It looks like the entire crew is intact, Commander. Should I-"

 

Shepard put a hand up. "Send them my way. All of them."

 

"A-are you sure? That prothean..."

 

"I meant what I  _said_ , Johnson," She said through gritted teeth. "I have to see it to believe it."

 


	4. reunited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is when i'll finally slide into sections being in garrus or shepard's POVs, specifically. just in case the POVs are confusing initially!

Garrus Vakarian never thought he would make it this far.

 

He  _especially_ had never imagined himself on Earth, in an Alliance frigate, no less, but oddities like this had become par for the course as part of the crew of the Normandy. Hell, by the time they were fighting a clone of Shepard he should have concluded that nothing should surprise him anymore. Everything else just felt  _mundane_ after something like that.

 

But as he floated on a lifeboat, the alien half of the Normandy's crew beside him, he craned his neck up to look at the sky and found himself dumbfounded. Was this really where Shepard grew up? No wonder humans had advanced so quickly. The sky was so bright, hospitable. Blue, dotted with white, fluffy clouds - it looked even more perfect than the manufactured 'sky' in the Presidium on the Citadel. The ocean seemed to go on forever, too. He had never seen so much water in one place. The waves rocked their lifeboat gently, water sloshing up over the sides as they watched the last vestiges of the Normandy sink into the deep. The last memories he had of the woman he loved.

 

He was still holding out on her, if only barely. The Citadel had  _exploded_. They'd seen the last remnants of the burning arms in orbit. There was no way in hell she survived that unless she had gotten incredibly lucky. Garrus wasn't completely unconvinced of that - Shepard just had a knack for being lucky, being in the right place at the right time. It was something that fascinated him about her.

 

"You think they'll try to make an SR-3?" Tali thought aloud. It was obvious she didn't expect a response, but Garrus was always apt to give some kind of snarky retort.

 

"Dunno, think there's gonna be another Reaper war anytime soon?" That comment might have been a little over the line. The quarian just turned away from him to look out on the empty ocean, murmuring something about how the Alliance would probably end up fishing it out. Liara tilted her head at him, her gaze sparkling, and he acknowledged her with a nod and a flare of his mandibles. At least  _she_ had found it funny. With all the differences they'd had in the past, they had a surprisingly similar sense of humor, which was to say they both had a  _dark_ sense of humor. They'd drink in the lounge together, fire passive-aggressive race jokes back and forth for hours. He remembered Liara had thrown a bottle at him after a particularly bad pick-up line he'd claimed to have learned on Nos Astra. 'What's more blue than raspberry ryncol?' He hadn't even been able to finish.

 

His chest tightened as the water in front of them bubbled gently. Damn, that was nice ship. He had a lot of good memories on it. A helluva lot of names scratched into the underside of the battery terminal. For a moment, he was glad no one else would see them. The names of his squad. The names of his family. Shepard. Venus, Venus. Venus. The name, now, was like a prayer in his mind. He begged to any gods that still cared that they'd spared her. For his sake. 

 

If she was really dead, he wasn't sure what he'd do, and he realized that for the first time since he quit C-Sec he didn't have any plan of action. The future, as bright as it seemed now without the Reapers shadowing it, felt like a vast, dark unknown. He entertained retirement - he was sure he'd be approved after all this - but he cast aside the thought. There was bound to be more threats from within, especially now that some of the largest races in the Milky Way were now greatly weakened. He was sure that splinter groups of the Krogan would want revenge. Whatever was left of the Batarians would be itching for a fight. Now that the fighting was over, more bad blood would brew.

 

Maybe he'd go back and be Archangel again for a while. Well, he'd never really  _stopped_ being him, but he'd taken off the helmet, stamped the Alliance insignia on the inside of his cowl. He'd stepped away from that life, but now the prospect was much more attractive, especially if the gods were silent to his prayers.

 

Venus. Venus. Venus. As they had passed the planet on their descent, he felt an odd connection between it and the commander. It was violent, swirling, pressurized. A hothouse. Just like her. 

 

"Hey, I think I see a shuttle!"

 

Joker's call from the adjacent lifeboat jerked him from his thoughts, and he looked back up to the sky, squinting as he saw a little black dot, steadily growing bigger. As it approached he recognized Alliance colors and he felt the entire crew sigh in relief. For a moment, he felt like a castaway, moored on some island and awaiting rescue. Starving. Tired. Wounded. 

 

He supposed that everyone on Earth was a castaway, now. 

 

The shuttle touched down onto the water, the door opening to reveal a small squadron of Alliance soldiers. They cheered as they recognized them, fists in the air, and most of the crew cheered back. Him, Javik, and Joker sat in silence. Javik, maybe, because he could care less, but Joker and himself had bigger things on their minds. He felt sympathy for Joker's situation - at least there was a chance Shepard was alive, but EDI?

 

They'd all heard her screams. Her last words. It reminded all of them that you couldn't fight a war without losing things, and they all lost friends.

 

Lines were cast out, and Garrus grabbed the one aimed at their lifeboat, pulling themselves up against the shuttle and letting the rest of the crew exit before he stepped off himself.

 

"Can't believe you guys made it," one of the soldiers said, clapping Garrus on the shoulder. He just shot him an intense look. None of them were in the mood for praise right now - they were all much too exhausted and much too aware of the losses they'd sustained. The soldier ended the gesture with an awkward pat before grabbing onto the roof bar, signalling the pilot for takeoff. "We'll take you in and get you checked out at the med tents."

 

"Uh, do you guys have food? We were a bit short on supplies on the way back..." Joker, hands in his pockets, was already lounging back on the shuttle bench like he owned the damn thing, rocking back and forth gently as the shuttle ascended. One of the soldiers tossed MREs around to the crew. When Garrus received his, he was disappointed to see that it was a levo-amino meal. Unsurprising, but damn if he wasn't tempted to just break down and eat it, regardless of the consequences. 

 

"Is there any dextro-paste?" Tali asked. No one even stopped to look at her and Garrus clenched his jaw with frustration.

 

"No dextro paste," a soldier said. "Sorry. There should be some back at the med tents. They're in short supply right now."

 

"Well, I'm glad I pulled those seed samples off of the planet we got moored on..." Liara sighed as she turned to peer out the window. "A shame I lost most of them in the wreckage."

 

"Don't worry, Miss T'Soni," The first soldier smiled at her. "We're sending another team now to recover the frigate. It should still be in decent enough shape to refurbish."

 

"Mmmm, not sure about that," Tali lamented, her voice holding an air of humor. "Drive core's probably busted. Oh, and you'll  _never_ get the Collector bloodstains out of the carpet." _That_ made the crew laugh, even the human ones - most of them had assumed quiet compliance once they'd piled aboard. They all had the shared experience of  'crazy shit that happened on the Normandy'. Nothing could take that away from them.

 

"Change of plans, crew," A disembodied voice said, and Garrus distinctly remembered the voice from the countless times he'd overheard Shepard's conversations with the Alliance Fleet. "We need the Normandy's crew at an undisclosed location. We'll treat you there and you can regroup."

 

"Admiral Hackett," Garrus began, his throat tight as he tried to restrain his rage at being thrown around like a puppet, "With all due respect, where the  _hell_ is the Commander?"

 

There was a long stretch of silence. Most of the crew looked at him like he was crazy, but he ignored the stares, instead pointing his gaze up at the ceiling, crossing his arms as he projected all of his frustrations at the Alliance admiral. He wasn't going  _anywhere_ without an answer, and he was sure the rest of the crew would stand behind him. 

 

"I can't talk about that over an undisclosed channel," The admiral said, and Garrus failed to glean anything of value from the evenness of his tone. The bastard. "The most I can tell you about the situation is that several splinter groups are fighting for territory on Earth. Mostly batarian - their homeworld was devastated. They have no place to go, but refuse to engage in negotiations with us."

 

"Typical," Liara said, and Traynor raised an eyebrow at her. "...What? I learned a lot about batarians in my line of work, and they just don't do  _compromise_." 

 

"Irrelevant," Hackett cut off their brewing argument, clearing his throat. "I'll meet you personally at the LZ and we'll take you in for assessment. I can tell you more once you arrive, but for now you need to sit tight. Hackett out."

 

Garrus was about to open his mouth to argue, but the comm link was already closed. His mandibles flared with rage and he knocked on the hull, calling up to the pilot, "Hurry it up a little, would you? I think we're all ready to be on solid ground again."

 

"Ten minutes to LZ," he responded, and Garrus detected  _something_ distasteful in his tone. Annoyance? Anger? Frustration?

 

The next few minutes passed in relative silence. The human crew members conversed quietly with one another, but the rest of them stood silent, awkwardly, eyes shifting this way and that. It had already been made abundantly clear that they weren't welcome here, whether it be the lack of edible food or the looks the Alliance soldiers gave Liara as she boarded. They'd all given Javik a wide berth and Garrus realized that this was probably how the prothean  _always_ felt. No wonder he was always such a stick in the mud. 

 

The aliens, unsurprisingly, clambered off the shuttle first when they landed to find themselves in a sprawling tent city. They were surrounded by thick forest, something he wasn't even aware still existed on such a heavily-populated place like Earth. He supposed most of them stuck to the dense urban areas, leaving large swathes of land untouched. It was... quite pretty, if he was honest with himself. He swore he could hear something chirping up in the trees... what were they called, birds? Garrus didn't understand why humans called them that - they looked nothing like them. Since when did turians have feathers?

 

The rolling sea of trees that stretched on for miles beyond the outpost made it seem tiny. Only twenty or thirty tents and colony-pods lay scattered in a clearing, squashed close together with barely enough room to maneuver between them. Garrus prayed that Shepard was somewhere within them.

 

Admiral Hackett approached them once they'd all exited, shuttle immediately lifting off, presumably to run another errand. "Good morning and welcome back, crew of the Normandy. We're glad to have you."

 

"Glad to be back, Admiral!" Joker said sarcastically, and Traynor smacked him on the back of the head. 

 

"You speak for your kind," Javik said, his eyes on the human crew. "Huddled together like sheep. My purpose is fulfilled." He turned to Hackett, his dual-pupilled eyes dilating as he appraised him. "I have had my vengeance. I would like a tent to myself until I am granted audience with the Commander."

 

The Admiral blinked, a little taken aback. "...Ah. I understand you're the prothean. I'll get you a private tent and keep you posted."

 

"Wait... the Commander is  _alive?_ " Garrus turned from the prothean to Hackett, his brow plates furrowed.

  
"We need to be out of the open if we're going to talk about that." He crossed his arms behind his back and appraised the lot of them. "All human crew members, report to the barracks tent on the west side of the complex to receive a bunk number. We'll give you further orders from there."

 

The humans dissipated, if not lingering a moment to nod their goodbyes to their alien friends, even if it was only temporary. They seemed apprehensive about leaving - Garrus realized they'd probably been hoping that they would see the commander. He was starting to have the sneaking suspicion that there was not commander to see. 

 

Had they even recovered a body?

  
"Liara, I need you with the intelligence teams," Hackett said, and Garrus jumped back to attention, trying to stay focused. It was time to rebuild, help Earth get back on its feet. Maybe get back to Palaven. Or Omega. Liara waved goodbye to the both of them as she left with a rather jittery Salarian. "And Tali, go with Javik and his escort. He'll show you the way to the quarian livepods."

 

"There are quarians here?" Garrus could see the excitement on Tali's face, even through the helmet. He figured that recon teams were brought to the surface, even if there weren't really any quarian ground troops. He was sure they were probably here to secure a dextro-amino food source. The liveships could only go so long without agricultural supplies, and Earth was rife with rich soil. She stood on her tippy-toes as she swept the campsite. "I can see them from here. I'll go immediately, thank you, Admiral." Garrus was almost offended that she didn't even cast a glance his way as she rushed off, but he knew her first loyalty was to her people. They needed her as much as she needed them.

 

"So, what're you gonna do with me?" Garrus turned to stare down the human in front of him. He could tell he was uncomfortable. The way his mandibles flared, the way he was carrying himself - hostile body language was universal and he wasn't going to spend much more time here unless there was still something left for him.

 

"Calm down, Vakarian. Someone here wants to see you. Follow me."

 

\---

 

"With all due respect, Commander-" 

 

"I don't give a damn about your  _respect_ ," Shepard spat at the combat nurse. "I'm not gonna be in a damned hospital gown when I see my crew again." She winced as she sat back on the bed, tugging on a pair of leggings. Bending over hurt, but she tried not to think about it. She'd pop another percocet and be fine. Most of her major wounds had healed, and even if she was still a little short of breath sometimes, she was in more than good enough shape to be out and about. At least, that was  _her_ opinion. Obviously, most of the med team didn't want her going anywhere. Said that it wasn't completely safe, that there were people trying to close in on the camp and steal resources. That just made her want to be back in armor even more. 

 

They'd given her a private tent, but she could hardly call it that with the entourage that followed her around. Hell, she wasn't even allowed to  _piss_ without someone watching her.

 

She tugged a tanktop on over her bare chest, thumbing the line of a deep scar over her collar. Where her own armor cut into her, she'd been told. Just another one for the collection, which had been steadily growing even after Cerberus had wiped her clean of them less than a year ago.. She was surprised to find her facial scars had returned, as well. She had never operated on them - they'd gone away on their own, thanks to what Chakwas called her 'infectious charm'. But now they were back in full force, orange lines cut into her skin. Trauma certainly changed a person - not even Venus was free from that.

 

Shepard hardly recognized herself. She crossed her arms over her chest as she sat back down on her bed, staring hard at the floor. She'd made it  _very_ clear she'd wanted to see Garrus as soon as they got back to base. Where were they? What was taking the shuttle so long? A thousand worst-case scenarios flew through Shepard's mind. Did the shuttle crash? Were they attacked? Did the extraction go wrong?

 

Then, the door to the tent opened, and Shepard sucked in a breath in surprise, turning to look and praying it was who she wanted to see.

 

\--- 

 

Admiral Hackett hadn't elaborated on his question, and though his heart soared with joy as they turned to shoulder their way through the base, he still had seeds of doubt planted in his mind. Wouldn't Hackett have just  _told_ him had Shepard actually survived? Wouldn't that be a publicly celebrated victory?

 

Something fishy was going on, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

 

The walk was only a few minutes, but it felt like a thousand years. Garrus was acutely aware how his hands were shaking, his heart palpitating. He found it troublesome to breathe, terrified of what he'd find. Hackett cast him a mildly worried glance every once in a while - he was sure he probably looked like he was about to burst into nervous energy. He sure felt like it. This whole week had been  _hell,_ staying up at night and wondering, hoping, praying, that she was alive. Every day was a steady wane of the hope he still had, and his mouth felt dry as they stopped at a small, white tent.

 

"Head inside," Hackett said, a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he was about to step away when soldier's blocked his path. "But do me a favor." He said, and squeezed gently, making Garrus flare a mandible in annoyance. The Admiral handed him a datapad, and when he took it he narrowed his eyes, giving the information a cursory glance.

 

"That's an official statement on the status of Alliance troops," He said. "Please brief her on the situation while you're here."

 

"Business as always, I see," Garrus said through gritted teeth, nostrils flaring. "I'll be  _sure_ to remember. Thanks."

 

The soldiers finally moved aside as Hackett stepped back into the crowd, surely off to some other errand he had to run. For a moment, he felt a pang of guilt. He was sure that the Admiral was busy, trying to coordinate what might as well be the last of the Earth's population. However, right now, it was the smallest of his concerns. 

 

He opened the tent and his stomach lurched, his mandibles falling limp.

  
Venus Shepard stood in front of him, her short, curly hair just how he remembered it, her green eyes piercing his as she turned to examine her intruder. She looked a little more bruised, a little more beaten, but otherwise exactly how he remembered her, from the hard angle of her jaw to the sturdiness of her waist. His last words to her flooded back to him. "I love you too." It was the first time he'd ever said it, ever really  _told_ her. He'd expected it to be goodbye. He felt like it  _should_ have been goodbye, but he couldn't bring himself to believe it as they escaped on the Normandy. 

 

He guessed his stubbornness had paid off. 

 

"Shepard," Was all he could get out of his mouth before she was tackling him with a kiss, and  _spirits_ , it felt so right to kiss her again, mouthplates pressed against her soft lips, and she smelled like gun oil and cinnamon like she always did and all he could do was let out a tremulous little noise as he wrapped his arms around her. His heart felt like it was about to exploded from his chest, his mandibles fluttering against her jaw.

 

It felt like much too soon when she pulled away, and her face was red and her eyes were full of tears. "God _dammit,_ Garrus, I never thought I would get to see you again."

 

"You're telling me," He murmured. His throat felt tight and he felt wetness brimming at the corners of his eyes. "Leaving you behind was one of the hardest things I had to do."

 

And Shepard  _laughed,_ sweet and clear and he couldn't stop thinking about how much he loved her. He loved her. He loved her. "Well, I followed your order," She said, her voice teasing. "As  _insubordinate_ as it was." Garrus found himself laughing, too, a hand coming up to caress her face gently as he pressed close for another kiss. This whole war had been worth it, he decided. Maybe he could finally find some peace, even if everything was in shambles right now. Her eyelashes fluttered as she peered at him through them, and he took a moment to take in her features all over again, swallowing back a sob as she smiled at him.

 

"Uh... Commander, we'll wait outside." Garrus just now noticed the two nurses standing on one side of the tent, averting their eyes awkwardly. He had half a mind to growl at them but Shepard put a gentle hand against his mandible, like she just  _knew,_ and it deflated him. 

 

"I'll be fine. Been wanting you to leave all damn day, anyways." They exited thusly and Shepard wasted no time in kissing him again, a laugh bubbling up in her chest. "This... we did it. I can't believe it. I can't believe we're both still standing. How did you- ah!" 

 

Garrus had lifted her up, squeezing her tight and burying his face into her neck, subvocals trembling, buzzing, as he rubbed her back gently. "Ah- aha, I missed you too, Garrus." And that's when the tears came - he couldn't hold them back anymore. He felt wetness stream down the lines of his face, shuddering as he sobbed into her skin. Shepard clung to him desperately, and he realized she was crying, too.

 

"Sh-Shepard," He managed, pulling away to stroke her cheek with his thumb, finding wetness there and wiping it away. "You don't need to cry."

 

"I know," She said, laughing through her tears and leaning in to kiss his nose. "I'm just so  _happy_."

 

Garrus realized, for the first time, that he was happy, too. He had a thousand and a half questions for Shepard, like what she'd done on the Catalyst and how the hell she'd managed to live, but he pushed them aside for now. "I love you, Venus," he murmured, the first name feeling so raw, so personal. Hardly anyone called her that, but she didn't seem to mind it from him. Now, it just made her take in a shaky breath, smiling as she stroked a hand down his mandible. 

 

"I love you too."

 

It was a while before he finally set her down. They both were just content to feel each other's touch, even though Garrus was still in full armor. "You look like a  _mess,_ " Shepard said, swiping her thumb across his cowl and leaving a blue streak in the gray-brown dust that covered his armor. "Is this the armor you were in during the attack? Have you even gotten to change?"

 

"...I mean, we were stuck on a ship with only the most basic of supplies and no way to renew a lot of our resources. We ran out of water on day three, and that was with only drinking it." Garrus placed a hand on her waist, pulling her closer, his eyes averted. He didn't want to bother her with this, but he felt like his stomach was trying to eat itself. "I haven't been able to eat anything, either," He said quietly, and the admission made him realize just how faint he felt. Garrus backed them both onto the bed and he sat down on it heavily, his vision blurred. 

 

"Fuck, you've gotta eat something. Hold on." She was already throwing on an N7 hoodie he'd never seen before, throwing it up over her head as she exited the tent. 

  
Garrus took the time to begin to undo his armor. Now that he was alone, he could finally get to taking care of himself - he felt like he hadn't showered in months, covered in dust and blood and grime. He was sure he probably didn't smell the greatest, either. The chest armor came off with little issue, and his leg armor's latch stuck a little before it popped off. Clearly, not even the most recessed crevices of his armor were safe. He felt a little  _expose_ _d,_ completely without armor in a camp full of humans, but he tried to ignore the feeling of insecurity, crossing his arms over his thin, worn civvies, discolored with dirt and blood that had seeped through cracks and bullet holes.

 

She returned moments later to toss him a couple dextro-paste packets. "We're really low on dextro-amino supplies, but hopefully that will change soon. It looks like Earth it going to become a bit of a melting pot." Shepard laughed lightly, and Garrus only vaguely noticed the dip of the bed as she sat next to him - he was already tearing open a packet and squeezing the contents into his mouth. Ah,  _yes._ Sickly sweet, just how he remembered it. It almost made him puke a few times, but right now it was  _bliss_. 

 

"Wow, you really were hungry," Shepard stated the obvious and he just snorted in her direction, eyeing her playfully as he finished off the first packet. He tore open the second and Shepard snorted right back, her nose wrinkling. Damn, he'd forgotten how cute that was. "Also, you  _reek_. When was the last time you showered?"

 

"...A few hours before we hit Earth, I think." He finished off the second packet, feeling satisfied for the time being and tossing the garbage into the trash receptacle sitting next to the bed. 

 

"Well, that's good, 'cuz I need to shower, too." Garrus turned back in time to see Shepard stepping behind the curtain at the far end of the tent. He spotted a blue object behind it and recognized it as a pop-up shower. He could see Shepard's odd human feet past the bottom of the curtain, and the dark-red fabric of the tanktop she'd been wearing pooled on the floor. 

 

Garrus swallowed, and stood to follow her inside, tugging his shirt off on the way. As he came up behind her to kiss at her neck, he felt his heart swell with contentedness. Finally, for the first time he could remember since this war started, he felt like he was happy. No time limit, no strings attached. Shepard was  _alive,_ and she was right: They'd won. Not only the war, but their personal battles, too. He finally felt like he had time to be happy, to kiss her gently and not desperately, to stroke her with the intention of knowing her, not just feeling her.

 

He loved her, and he could take her smile, her breath, her kiss, as his one victory.


	5. petrichor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter wasn't beta'd, so apologies if there's any typos!
> 
> it's a little tear-jerky near the end there... i wanted to make this hot but i failed. i'm sorry. :(
> 
> also, if you don't care for smut you can skip this chapter!

There were thousands of people moving, shifting, outside of their tent. Both of them could hear it - Garrus could even make out individual voices, conversations. Right now, though, he drowned it out and focused on the pitter-patter of the shower on the tarp floor. The water pressure wasn't great, but it was enough to get them wet. His fingers slid over the smooth expanse of Shepard's back, thumbing new scars he'd never seen before.

 

"This war beat you up," He remarked. "You were a lot cleaner before it all."

 

"Hmmm," She just hummed, rolling her powerful shoulders as she leaned into his touch. She was so firm, so strong, yet so gentle and delicate when they were alone together. He lived for these moments. "I was about covered in them when we met. Remember the one on my eyebrow?"

 

"Uh-huh. You tried so hard to cover it up with makeup. Ash made fun of you quite a bit for it."

 

Shepard just scoffed, tilting her head as Garrus stroked down her lean neck. "Of course she did. I shouldn't miss it, but..."

 

"Cerberus took them all away." He parroted what she'd said to him before. The long and short of it was that what they did to her wasn't consensual. He couldn't say he hated them for it, though. They'd brought her back from the dead, and the war was over because of her. He hated them for plenty of other reasons. 

 

"...Yeah. I know, I talk about it a lot." She was quiet for a minute, then she chuckled under her breath. "Felt like a newborn baby, with how soft my skin was..."

 

Garrus' hand came down to stroke the curve of her waist, gripping at her hip. "Oh, really? I think you still do."

 

Shepard turned around at that, her eyes almost glowing in the din, and Garrus couldn't help but admire her. She was so  _beautiful_ when her features weren't marred by stress or exhaustion. "You think  _everything_ is soft, compared to you, mister... spikey... turian... guy." She made a face, averting her eyes, and Garrus snorted, the huff of breath enough to displace a few short, curly hairs on her forehead. 

 

"Mister spikey turian guy?"

 

"You heard what I said." She bit her lip, looking up at him, corners of her mouth turned upwards just slightly in a mischievous grin. 

 

"You look like you're plotting something. Are you -  _oh_." Venus knew all of his weak spots. Her hand had sneakily made its way up his back and into his fringe, slim fingers tangling in it and pressing into the soft skin beneath. His mandibles twitched and he tilted his head into her ministrations, eyes half-lidded.

 

Shepard leaned in, her eyelashes fluttering, to murmur low in his ear, "I'm  _always_ plotting something, Vakarian. Figured you would have known that by now."

 

"Usually you-  _ah_ \- keep me in the loop." Her other hand had come around his waist, and she was pushing all of his buttons right now. It wasn't like there was anything stopping them. No mission, no crewmates, no emergencies. He was still brimming with adrenaline after the past week, and he could already feel his plates shifting, bulging. Everything was moving so quickly, and it made his head spin. 

 

"I like surprising you, sometimes." Her voice was still low in her throat, and it made Garrus' subvocals buzz in response. A slim hand came up to caress his mandible, then grip it as she pulled him down for a kiss. Her lips were so  _soft_ , and he couldn't put into words how much he'd missed them, as foreign as kissing still was to him. He couldn't do much other than press against her, and open him mouth to let her explore it. Her tongue, too, was soft, and prodded against his in a way that made his stomach flip. The hand on his waist dug into the soft flesh there, and he let out a shaky moan, mandibles brushing against her cheeks. He'd never been with someone who drove him so  _crazy_ the way Shepard did. 

 

Shepard pulled back from him, to his dismay, and he just tilted his head to gaze hungrily at her, eyes dark and mouth still half-open."I think we're both overdue for some post galaxy-saving-war coitus," She murmured, her voice a little breathless. "What do you think?"

 

That was his cue. He took her by the waist and pressed her close against him - he'd press her against a wall, but they'd topple the whole shower that way. Her face, turned up to him, was slack, her pupils blown as her eyes tore over his body. Garrus realized she was memorizing him in the same way he tried to remember her. The way her nose curved, how she always had a tuft of hair that stood on end. The way she moaned when he touched her. "Long overdue." His voice was almost a growl, rumbling out of his chest, and she giggled nervously, her cheeks red as he towered over her.

 

He made Shepard nervous like this, and it was probably the sexiest thing about her - that she'd let her guard down enough to be made vulnerable to him. It made him want to curl around her and protect her forever. The fact that she was always getting into life-threatening situations didn't help. 

 

Garrus brought a hand down, to slide against her belly, and she jerked away from the contact for a moment in surprise. He let her relax, stilling his movements until she gripped his waist again, a silent plea to continue. Thick fingers brushed against the coarse hair she had between her legs, then against something  _warm_ and  _soft_ and  _wet_ , a different kind of wet compared to the water of the shower. Venus moaned as a single talon spread her apart, her legs quivering. "Careful..." She whispered, her voice carrying an edge of apprehension. 

 

She always said that. She trusted him with his  _life_ , it was almost trivial that she wouldn't trust him with this. He understood, though - the first few times they were together he didn't want her hands anywhere near his sheath. He shook his head, clucking his tongue. "Shepard, Shepard, Shepard." His finger circled her clit, and she moaned again, eyes squeezed shut. " _Venus_. You know I wouldn't ever do a thing to hurt you." Her name on his tongue made her whine, a lovely, tremulous sound, and she gripped at him harder. 

 

"Dammit, I  _know_ , just -" He plunged a finger into her, which effectively cut her off as she rocked her hips into his hand. "Ah-  _god_ \- okay, I get it, just -  _don't stop_ \- you feel so  _good_." She was leaning bodily against him, now, her own legs failing to find enough strength to hold her up. He loved her when she was like this. She needed someone who could take care of her in quiet moments like this. Someone who could tell her everything was going to be alright. 

 

"Come  _on_ ," She urged him, and, as if on cue, his dick slid out from between his plates, throbbing and aching, and Shepard scrabbled at his hand, hurriedly tugging his finger out of her. He was surprised at her urgency, but the look in her eyes told him not to question. She  _needed_ this. He did, too. Needed to let go, if only for just a moment, and forget about the state of the galaxy. It wasn't their problem right now. 

 

He pressed into her, slow and sweet, lifting her up enough to bury himself inside her, and the feeling was overwhelming. He shook as he held her close, legs slightly bent to give him more purchase on the slick floor. "Venus..."

 

She placed a hand atop his fringe, looking down at him and smiling. "I  _love_ it when you say my name," She said, and gripped around the back of his neck. "God, I need-"

 

Garrus was already moving, snapping his hips up into her, and his head was swimming as he saw her throw her head back and moan for him, open-mouthed and needy, and he groaned right back, bending to press his face against one of her breasts, sharp teeth teasing the soft skin. 

  
"Waited... so... long... for this..." She managed between thrusts, her legs coming to wrap tightly around him, and Garrus couldn't let go if he tried, her powerful thighs locking them together. He just moaned again, mandibles limp, as he sped up his pace, the relief far too good for him to slow down. He didn't know if he'd ever get to see her again like this. He wasn't sure he'd get to see her again, period. His 'I love you' had been goodbye. It was more than he could put into words.

 

He rocked his hips just the right way, and Venus sobbed out his name like a prayer, hands scrabbling over his back and leaving trails of fire in their wake. He felt heat coiling in his belly - much faster than he liked, but this was more than sex, more than performance. Like she'd done the first time, the night before they stormed the Collector base, she was gathering up the shattered remnants of his soul. She was putting him back together, but this wasn't like glue or tape, it was like  _fire_ , and she was melting him with her touch and the way she felt around him and melting him into something new. Something  _whole_. 

 

He loved her more than he could ever fathom, the depths of his heart yearning for her in ways he didn't understand. So little of this he understood, but the way she said his name? The way she was clenching around him and the way she gripped his fringe?

 

Garrus choked out her name as he spilled into her, his stomach bottoming out, and he reasoned that he understood this. This...  _connection_ that they had. He knew she felt it, too. Perhaps the universe was finally on their side - or maybe it had been the whole time. He didn't care. 

 

As he coasted through the afterglow, he stroked Shepard's soaked hair back and pressed the hard plates of his mouth to the soft skin of her forehead. Such a contrast. They were a match made in hell, that's for sure. They got looks wherever they went, turian and human alike. Probably wondering how ugly their babies were.

 

"I love you, Garrus." And the way she said it, the profound  _sadness_ behind her words, it made his throat tight. He nuzzled into her cheek, chest rumbling in a purr. 

 

"I love you, too."

 

"You... you said that. When you were all leaving on the Normandy. I'm not crazy?"

 

He laughed, and he couldn't hide sadness, the bitterness, behind it. "I did. I should have told you sooner, but... I realized it might have been my last chance."

 

Her gaze grew distant for a moment. "When I was up there... I had to make a choice. And I made the right one... I think. All I could think of was the look on your face as I backed away. I couldn't let that go."

 

Now, Garrus had a  _lot_ of questions about that. What kind of choice? What other option was there, other than destroy the Reapers? He left it alone, for now, nodding as he pulled away from her. "I couldn't let it go, either. We got moored on this planet in an adjacent system, and all I could think on the trip back was that I just  _knew_ you were alive. I couldn't shake myself of the feeling - like I'd know if you were dead. I don't know..."

 

She laughed, sweetly, as she turned off the water, leaving them both shivering. A towel was handed his way, and he dried off gratefully. "You held out on me."

 

"I guess I did." He wiped his face with the towel before tossing it over the curtain and stepping out from behind it. Shepard followed close, small hands brushing against his plates wherever she got the chance. 

 

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions," She said as they collapsed on the bed together. "I can tell you what happened, if you want. You might not believe me, though."

 

"Try me."

 

\---

 

Shepard hadn't been this happy in years. Even during the war, when they'd spent time together, it always seemed limited. Now, it felt like they had forever. Even still, though... the weight of her decision, as little as she had thought about it since waking up, had begun to set in. It felt like it was crushing her.

 

Well, Garrus was as good of a listener as any.

 

So, she told him. Told him about the little boy, about her nightmares. About how she'd met him - or what had looked like him - on the Citadel. The Catalyst was an AI - an AI that was concerned with keeping the Reapers in check, controlling them. And he'd given her a choice.

 

Control was out of the question for her. First of all, it was what the Illusive Man had wanted all along, and... that control was what brought the Leviathan to their downfall. Controlling them would only cause more wars.

  
Synthesis, as well, sounded terrifying. There was no way in hell she'd merge all synthetic and organic life like that. It sounded... wrong. The Reapers weren't an end-all-be-all. Their mistakes - the mistakes of organics over generations - could be avoided. 

 

Destroying them, to her, seemed like the right thing to do. It was what she had set out to do, after all. The fact that the Catalyst had destroyed all synthetics hurt her greatly - as a civilization, they were finally beginning to understand them, treat them as equals. She could only imagine how Joker felt right now. Every war came with a price, and this one was high. 

 

She finished her tale with a theory - that the AI made the choice she made sound ominous, unsatisfying, because it was concerned with self-preservation. It wasn't all-knowing, it wasn't omniscient. It was just a computer, an AI, a person, even if it wasn't living or breathing, and it didn't want to die. That fact alone might help her sleep at night, at least. She'd destroyed something that didn't know all the answers, that had only seen things from its own perspective. That she hadn't just doomed the galaxy to another, bloodier, war. 

 

"If it makes you feel any better, I think you made the right decision," Garrus said, propping himself up on an elbow with one hand and stroking her waist with another. "I think the galaxy is going to learn from its mistakes. Treat AI like people rather than tools." He blinked, eyes cast down to the bedsheets. "You're part synthetic, aren't you? Why are you still..."

 

"It drained my implants, completely," Shepard said, remembering with a shudder the sudden blindness as she fell from the Citadel. "I only think I survived because I fell into a giant squadron of Alliance ships. The shield pylons recharged my kinetic barriers before I hit ground."

 

Garrus raised his brow plates - a rather funny sight, but it proved how surprised he was. "That's  _crazy_. I can't believe..." He sighed, shaking his head. "I wish I could have been there with you."

 

"Well, it doesn't matter now," She said with finality, snuggling closer to him and pressing her face into his neck. She could feel his chest vibrating as he purred (he purred! She loved all the little noises he made) and she smiled, making a happy little noise of her own. "I'm here. With you."

 

He just hummed in agreement, and that was enough. She never thought she'd get here, to be so content, to feel so  _whole_. 

 

Finally, she was happy.


	6. lotus

Garrus, in the spirit of fulfilling orders, briefed Shepard on the state of things from the datapad he'd been given. Earth was ina  state of general disarray, but the blast zone seemed to be the most pan-populated - that is to say, any alien ships moored here were stuck here for the time being, and they'd set up camps and little 'colonies' across the London area and beyond. He hadn't realized it, but they were on a giant island, completely waterlocked. It made getting in ground resources problematic, even if the mainland wasn't far. Most areas with large civilizations had been decimated, and what was left was sticking to the wilds. On top of this major lack of supplies, pirates were bouncing in and out of orbit, using the limited communications to their advantage and stealing supplies wherever they could. Batarians had taken the helm in this 'effort' - destroying camps, taking whatever their hands could carry before leaving. There'd been word, too, that they had set up post on Mars, making colonies and attempting to terraform the planet with all the incoming resources.

 

He thought it was a massively stupid idea, especially in the Sol system. The Alliance might have been weakened, but they'd snuff out this threat in due time. While they were this weak, though... moving any troops was, apparently, proving to be difficult. 

 

"No rest, even after war," Venus lamented as they pored over the datapad together. "Even after all I've done, there are still people out for us."

 

"What, did you think they were gonna give us a break?" Garrus laughed bitterly. "Resources or no, you're a damn  _hero_ , Shepard. In my experience, makes you a whole lot more enemies than it does friends."  
  


She just sighed, leaning back on her palms and staring up at the roof of the tent. It was still raining, if only slightly, causing the light entering the tent to be dappled and distorted. It made rays of light fall on her features in a picturesque way, and for a moment Garrus thought of the paintings he'd seen from early human civilization. What was it called, the 'renaissance'? 

 

"I know. We need more of plan, though. More than just killing these pirates and trying to get things in order. Earth can't be a hubworld for every species in the galaxy... most of humanity would object to that." The sly smile on her lips told him that 'most' of humanity most definitely didn't include her. He'd known her to be surprisingly open-minded... and not very attached to this place.

 

"Do you want to stay here?"

 

"Hmm. Dunno. Probably not. Maybe... we could go to Palaven." His hear fluttered at the thought. How  _was_ Palaven right now? Probably in ruin, just like Earth. He hoped that they'd elected a temporary Primarch in Victus' absence - he was surely still on Earth, his ships weren't capable of that kind of travel without the relays. Regardles... being able to show her the vast, pristine beaches of his homeworld? Sounded like a dream come true. Maybe they could build a house...

 

He shook the thought from his mind. Too much to do now. Too much to think about to be occupying himself with domesticity. It seemed, though, that Shepard had different ideas.

 

"Do turians get married?" The question made him start, and he looked over at her, fringe tingling with embarrassment and curiosity. Marriage. He knew what it was - a human practice, a ceremony where two people celebrate their intention to commit to each other for life. Exchanging... jewelry, fancy clothes, nice food. That sort of thing. He knew it hadn't been adopted into galactic culture, mainly because if humans had interspecies relationships, it was usually with Asari, and they were much too long-lived to be concerned with something like marriage.

 

"No, we don't," He said, and watching her face fall made his heart wrench. "We have... similar traditions, but romance isn't really a priority in turian culture." He took one of her hands, folding it into his own and massaging her palm gently. "Though, I've told you before. I'm not a very good turian, so to speak." Living on the citadel did that to you. You lose so much of your own culture when you live in such an amalgamate of them. He'd lost any real ties to his homeworld long ago, other than his family. He hoped they were still out there, somewhere. No one had told them where refugees from Palaven were going.

 

"Well, now I'm curious. What kind of traditions?"

 

It was very much like her to ask questions. She always seemed so concerned with everyone else's culture, and he wondered if it had something to do with what she lacked. He didn't know much about her childhood, but she'd grown up alone, fending for herself. She couldn't be too fond of Earth's culture as is. "We have... ceremonies," He said carefully. The word for it didn't exist in Galactic Standard. "Some more extravagant than others, depending on the devoutness of the family, and money..." Garrus had personally never witnessed a bonding ceremony. He felt  _odd_ , trying to explain it from what he'd learned out of movies and history books. "All I know for sure is that it involves getting new facial tattoos. Usually, it's adding to the ones you already have, but some elect to get new ones entirely." 

 

"Oh, so they're  _tattoos_."

 

Garrus snorted. "What did you think they were? Paint?"

 

She kicked her legs, looking down into her lap. "...Maybe." 

 

That made him laugh - and when she flinched he patted her reassuringly. It wasn't really offensive, just  _funny_. So many little details they had yet to learn about each other. Even now, he had a thousand questions he'd love to ask her. He'd humor her for now, though.

 

"Yeah, they're tattoos. We get them when we get our first official rank. They get progressively more elaborate depending on military achievements and life events. Like Victus - he's almost covered in them. Gives you a good look into his military history."

 

"...Huh. Then... why are yours so simple?"

 

Garrus just shrugged. He was sure that this might be a tough topic for turians more connected to Palaven's culture, and Shepard was treating it as such, if the tone of her voice was any indication. "I left for C-Sec not long after I got a post," He said simply. "I never really had a chance to get more. Though I'm sure I could get a face full of them if I wanted, now."

 

Venus brought up a hand to stroke his face, and the tenderness was a little startling, her thumb swiping across his nose, his cheek. "I like them," She murmured softly, smiling a little. "...Maybe I can get some, someday."

 

An image of Shepard with marks like his crossed his mind, and it made him happier than he'd ever admit. It would be official. She'd be part of the family -  _his_ family. Maybe before this, his father would have objected, but now? Shepard saved the whole damned galaxy, and he was sure word had reached him by now of their... relationship. It had been all over the tabloids, even with a war on. Lots of blurry pictures of the two of them on top of the Presidium... damn, he was glad he'd knocked that off of his bucket list. 

 

"If that's what you want, then I approve. Not sure about the rest of Palaven, but..."

 

She laughed, leaning in to kiss him, and he pulled her close again to reciprocate. Everything now was so  _natural_ , even if they were discovering that they knew very little about each other. That was part of the fun, wasn't it?

 

"So," He began when they pulled apart again, his voice a little breathless. "What's up with the rings?"

 

\---

 

Hours passed, and Venus hardly noticed when every minute was filled with conversation. She'd pulled up several videos on her omni-tool describing human customs, from how 'marriage' differed even between cultures on Earth and how religion factored in to certain ceremonies. It was nice, being able to teach him about her life, her people. The whole time, he seemed fascinated, leaning in close as he watched vids of women in flowing, white dresses holding bouquets. 

 

"The white is so  _gaudy,_ " he said. "No offense."

 

Shepard shook her head, giggling a little - god, when was she one to  _giggle_? "None taken. I don't like it much, either. If we were to ever... y'know, I'd probably go with black."

 

"Like that slinky thing you wore during the party you had?"

 

Ugh, god, _that_  thing. Kasumi had given it to her when they'd infiltrated that awful party to get her friend's graybox back. It was so  _tight_ , and despite the comments it got it was incredibly uncomfortable. Not to mention a pain in the ass to try and shoot in. She felt like she was going to rip the seams at any given moment. "Uh, no." She said firmly. "Probably something a little more flowy. Less tight."

 

"Aw, but I like tight."

 

"Shut  _up_ ," Venus shoved him lightly, but her expression betrayed her amusement. Damn him for making her smile so much. "What would you want me to wear, then?"

 

"Hmm..." He thought for a moment. "Ever seen those dresses in the fantasy movies? Like, the..." He made an odd gesture at his waist, and she snickered. 

 

"Oh, a corset? I like those. I don't really think you can bend much in them, though..."

  
"Hopefully, there won't be any shootouts at this potential wedding."

 

"Hey, you never know!"

 

"Well, I'd make sure we'd have it somewhere nice and secure. Maybe an underground bunker. Or maybe-" He was interrupted by her omni-tool beeping incessantly. Hadn't she muted that damn thing? She didn't want to be bothered right now. "You should probably take that."

 

"Yeah... sorry." She flicked it back to her main screen, closing out their recent history. Hopefully they'd be able to continue at some point. She'd just  _love_ showing him those old wedding sitcoms. 

 

Shepard inspected her notifications to find several messages from her squadmates. No wonder it had beeped - her messages were almost full up. Again. She had always been so bad about deleting them. The one that piqued her interest the most was from Liara - detailing some information she had collected. Apparently, a group of operatives - some C-Sec, some Spectres, some just run-of-the-mill soldiers, were beginning an upstart project to create another hub station not unlike the Citadel. The schematics she sent over looked much different from the Citadel - more designed for habitation than anything else. Instead of five wings, it looked like the petals of a flower, each of which would rotate on their own with mass effect fields. She was surprised how much technology had been salvaged from the Citadel already to begin this project, and it looked like most remaining Spectres had dedicated themselves to finding scientists and engineers to aid them.

 

To her dismay, it looked like the Council had survived, as she read the next message. They had been shuttled off the Citadel onto Earth not long after it was moved to orbit, along with millions of other refugees. They seemed to be holing up somewhere in Europe, and they'd sent her a courtesy message also hinting at the details of the project Liara had messaged her about. 'Project Lotus', it was being called, and she was almost completely sure it was Liara's idea. She had always liked Earth's flora.

 

The next few were a smattering of tidbits from the rest of the squad. Tali was helping the flotilla cultivate dextro-compatible food items for long-term work. Javik was... 'investigating human culture', so he called it, and another message from Hackett told her he'd already left the London camp for another outpost in Paris. She had a sneaking suspicion he was trying to get access to the Louvre - or what was left of it, anyways. Joker was flying supplies in and out of camps across the planet, and his message seemed to impart that he was happy to keep busy. Ashley was helping with the Lotus project as well, and the rest of the Normandy's crew were scattered across this camp and neighboring outposts, either helping other refugees or gathering resources.

 

The Normandy itself, too, had a bit of a status update - Traynor had contacted her to let her know that they'd salvaged it, and repairs were underway. Apparently, they had managed to jury-rig the QEC to the drive core and reach FTL that way. Leave it up to her crew to perform the impossible - even without her. 

 

"So, is Traynor winning some award for that?" She jumped - Garrus had been looking over her shoulder. 

 

"Excuse me! These are  _private_." She only managed to keep a straight face for a moment before she burst out into laughter. "Hah, I don't know. I hope so. It might be the next step in interstellar travel that doesn't use the relays." She hadn't gotten any word about the relays being repaired, but she was sure someone was  _trying_. Even if they were down now, there had to be some way to repair them. 

 

"So,  _Commander,_ " Garrus' voice was laced with sarcasm, and he punched him in the bicep. "Hey. I'm just trying to be polite. What's our next move?"

 

Venus thought for a moment - the pirates were definitely a priority, especially if they were trying to set up base in Sol, but this 'Lotus Project' also held a great deal of interest to her. She wondered if there was a way they could ferry supplies, or even get on Mars to try and take out the base, or...

 

The screen of her omni-tool wavered as something  _boomed_ in the distance. Loud enough to make the ground shake.

 

"What was-"

 

Garrus was already standing, grabbing his assault rifle from where he'd set it when he arrived. His eyes were dark, and he turned to peek his head out of the opening of the tent. Shepard couldn't see anything from where she was sitting, but she was smart enough to begin pulling on her clothes. 

 

She was snapping on the chestplate of her armor when Garrus pulled back, his gaze cold. "Get down!"

 

Venus just managed to roll beneath the bed when a eardrum-shattering blast made her vision go white.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oooh, a cliffhanger! stay tuned for more badassery.


	7. hastings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i would have gotten this up earlier but i had some serious writer's block. hopefully i'll be able to update more frequently in the future!

Shepard's ears were ringing as her vision came back to her, and she staggered to her feet, heart racing. Dust had been kicked up everywhere from whatever projectile had impacted their part of the camp, and her breath hitched as she spotted Garrus prone on the ground.  _Shit._ Why was it that every time she was able to have a tender moment, it got ruined? Couldn't the galaxy give her some peace and maybe _not_ try to kill her boyfriend for  _one second_? She rushed to grab him, praying to whatever god that wanted to listen that he was alright - and as she approached, he was already moving, trying to find his footing. She took hold of his arm, tugging him to his feet completely. He had this  _wild_ look in his eyes as he turned to face her, and his brow plates furrowed. 

 

" _Damn it._ " He looked down for only a moment- and she could tell he was pissed, too- before he clapped her on the arm, hard enough to stun her into focusing on his gaze. "We need to go.  _Now_." His voice was fierce and  _demanding,_ and despite the fear thrumming in her limbs she just scowled at him. She wasn't some  _damsel in distress._

"Yeah, we do." She was already pulling on her armor, snapping everything closed as quick as her fingers would move. Shepard wasn't the kind to  _yell,_ but Garrus didn't know jack about what they were walking into. At least she had _some_ intel. "Know where we're going?" Her tone was clipped, restrained irritation bubbling at the surface.

 

Garrus was grabbing his guns, armor already halfway on, but he took pause at the question, the wideness of his eyes telling her that he'd realized his slip-up. "...Not yet, but-"

 

" _I do._ So watch my six," She snarled, grabbing her own arms and snapping them to her person. She knew Garrus was just trying to protect her, but it hurt that he thought she couldn't take care of herself. Venus wasn't one to be egotistical, but she was the 'commander' for a reason and he needed to  _listen to her_ right now. She knew this camp infinitely better than he did. Hell, she'd been stuck here with nothing to do for the last week - she knew the labyrinth inside and out by now. "We're going to the medical facility, north of here. It's a colony pod instead of a tent, and also where Hackett's office is. We need to reach him so we can regroup." He was already falling into line again - it didn't seem like he didn't want their relationship to get in the way of work, either. Funny, really, that shit like this was an everyday for her now.

 

"Understood. But..." He took a step forward and she clenched her jaw. "Really. Are you gonna be okay? They had nurses in your room with you for a reason, I mean - "

 

"I'm  _fine,_ " She snapped, pushing past him to the tent's door.  _Thanks for making me doubt myself, though. Really._ "Let's move."

 

\---

 

Exiting the tent was met with a cloudful of dust, and Garrus coughed as he followed Shepard out into the walkway, sure to keep his distance. He knew he'd pissed her off, and he knew exactly why - but he wasn't going to sit back and let her  _die_ again. Her injuries worried him. He knew she'd already come a long way from the end of the battle, but she wasn't moving as quickly as usual, and he couldn't tell if it was fatigue or pain or something else. They had no idea what they were walking into.

 

Shepard was back in charge though, without a doubt - and he knew that somehow they'd figure things out if she was in the lead. Even as a squad of two, they were formidable. Garrus knew she favored her right side due to a nasty break in her femur a long while ago, and even after everything with Cerberus she still had the habit. Now, as they moved, he came up to her left, keeping watch for anything that might jump out of the debris.

 

Destruction - there was a lot of it. Most of the tents still stood erect, but poles were bent, shelters off-kilter.  _Something_ had hit the camp, but what? As they veered to the right and down a claustrophobic passage, his vision was cut off and he was left wondering. The blast was large enough that it was definitely some kind of kinetic weapon, enough to cause a sizeable blast - how  _close_ it might have been was his main concern. What were they after? Whoever _they_ were?

  
"Enemies up ahead!" Shepard called and he immediately focused back forward. At the end of the corridor there was a batarian rounding the corner, armor a telling blue-and-white and Garrus gripped hard on his assault rifle. The Blue Suns... why were they here? Had they organized this attack? How - 

  
Shepard screamed, but it wasn't pain, it was a _battle cry_ , and a flash of indigo issued from one of her fists and drove the alien into the ground with a vengeance. His collapse onto the dirt came with the telltale _crack_  of a breaking bone. The mercenary grunted in pain, unable to do more than writhe in the Commander's grip as she lifted him into the air - Garrus was still baffled at just how powerful of a biotic she was - and brought him inches within her face. 

 

" _Why are you here?_ " She demanded, and as her hand squeezed Garrus saw the batarian's airway constrict with invisible force, blue rippling around him. 

  
"Sh-Shepard..." Was all that came from his mouth, his voice a gargle as his throat bubbled with blood. "...Won't tell you _shit_." The merc found it in him to *spit*, hot blood spattering onto her face, and she just _snarled_ , baring her teeth in a decidedly not-human way which made Garrus wonder where she'd picked that up from.

 

"I thought you were  _finally_ on our side," She leveraged, her voice low and menacing. "What happened? Where's Aria?"

  
" _Aria_ has been  _dethroned_ ," the batarian choked out, coughing up more red. His two sets of eyes bulged as Shepard squeezed him harder. " _Humans..._ will soon meet their  _doom_. Hail... Thortar." He coughed again, breath coming out in a wheeze. "Hail... the hegemony..."

 

Garrus had had enough - and obviously, Shepard had, too, because she crunched up her fist again and her biotic field exploded, the batarian's eyes rolling as he dropped to the ground. A twitch of movement made her growl in frustration and she drove her boot into his face, hard enough to cave it in, and Garrus winced as more red spurted up to coat Shepard's armor. Her boot came down  _again_ , and that's when he decided to step in, gripping her by the shoulder.

 

"Hey," he said. "I think he's dead." When she turned to him her eyes were full of fire, brow furrowed, but it faded as she caught the worried look in his eyes. Blood dripped down her face, into the slope of her mouth, and she grimaced, spitting on the decimated corpse. 

 

"I know," She relented, and her posture weakened a little as she looked back at the body. "Sorry. I'm just..."

 

"Pissed? Me too," Garrus agreed, patting her back gently. "Your allies betraying you isn't exactly the nicest feeling in the world."

 

Her shoulders stiffened again, and Garrus noticed her jaw working, clenching and unclenching as she tried to find words. "It's not that, but it doesn't matter," Her voice was quiet, and he realized that she was angry because their time together had been interrupted. He was, too, but  _hell_ , enough to torture that Blue Sun like that? Garrus' heart twisted in his chest, but he pushed the thoughts away for now - he couldn't let this get in the way. Bigger things than their personal happiness mattered right now. "Let's keep moving."

 

This time, Shepard moved with a different kind of urgency. Instead of blind rage, she was cold, quiet, calculating. Probably mulling over what the batarian had said - hell, he was, too. Was Aria  _dead?_ Or was she just imprisoned? Who was Thortar?

 

They finally stepped out into the open, and Garrus realized they'd come across the blast zone. There were burnt corpses strewn about- civilians caught in the blast- and in the middle of the clearing was a large crater, the ground for the first few meters clean on debris due to the shockwave generated when it impacted. He spotted civilians and soldiers alike bustling this way and that, looking determined but lacking no direction. They didn't even seem to notice them - normally, they'd stand out, but there were aliens of all kinds here, dressed in all different fatigues. Smoke was still rising from the impact - it looked like it had been a cannon of some sort, small fires still burning here and there. Not a  _huge_ weapon, but definitely something he could see mercenaries like the Blue Suns getting ahold of. As he swept the zone, his gaze tilted up and he saw the colony pod Shepard had mentioned atop a small rise, nestled in between some trees.

 

"He mentioned the hegemony," Shepard wondered as they skirted the edge of the clearing, heading up what looked like a main walkway towards the pods. "The batarian homeworld was decimated, though... are they rallying forces to try and take another world?"

 

"If that's what's happening on Mars, then they're awfully stupid." Garrus tugged a cot, knocked on its side, out of the walkway, allowing them to continue. 

 

"I think Mars might just be a base of operations..." She turned to him, eyes wide. "Where the blast zone was... I just realized." Garrus just gave her a quizzical look, especially as she stopped in her tracks to look back at where they had came. "That's... that's where they were holding me after I was out of the med bay. I only just got moved to that new tent yesterday. I-" Her expression curled into a snarl. "Dammit. They're after me. And they got to a bunch of innocent civilians while trying to kill  _me_." Shepard put a hand to her head, and Garrus could see her jaw clench - though, he couldn't say he was surprised. If the Batarians were trying to diminish Earth's forces, Shepard was a good place to start. She was the symbol of humanity's power and determination, and killing her would be a massive blow to Earth's morale, especially while still trying to pick up after a war. It  _did_ scare him, though, that the Batarians seemed to know Shepard's location. 

 

"It also means we have a worm," He added, and he knew it would probably only piss her off - but hell, they  _needed_ pissed right now. "We need to find out who it is."

 

"Probably one of the nurses. _Fuck_ ," She cursed, and met his eyes again. This time, her expression was questioning: "Do you think they're trying to take Earth?"

 

Garrus thought about it for a moment. Mars was close enough to be a decent base, and considering they were firing on military camps, and trying to take out Shepard... no evidence pointed to any other conclusion. "...Maybe. It wouldn't surprise me."

 

Shepard's gaze went cold, and she glanced back up at the colony pod, her eyes narrowed. Garrus stared up at the squadrons in orbit - the sky dotted with them, visible even in the daylight. He couldn't see the enemy ship that might have fired, not with the sheer amount of idle forces. It was the perfect time to attack. 

 

"Hey!" Shepard gripped his arm, tugging him forward and causing him to stumble. "Quit daydreaming, Vakarian. Let's  _go_." 

 

"Yes, Commander."

 

\---

 

The idea that the Blue Suns had managed to overthrow Aria was nigh unbelievable. Shepard didn't think that Aria dying was even  _possible_ \- hell, she'd held her own against the nutjobs that live on Omega for years. So, what had happened that had caused her fall from the throne?

 

 _A war,_ she told herself. _Obviously._ She was sure plenty of things happened both before and after the blast, and she wondered if Omega had been compromised even before the end. Maybe they'd left ground troops on Earth as spies? When had Aria been taken out of power? Just how long had they been watched by an enemy? Her naivete about the situation, thinking there wouldn't be anyone vying for power on Earth, made her furious with herself. She should have seen this coming. She should have -

 

"This way, Shepard." Garrus' voice shook her out of her own thoughts, and she looked up to see him taking the path that led up to the colony pods, waiting for her to follow. Swallowing past her dry mouth as she tried to get her emotions under control, Shepard followed, her fists clenching as she mechanically marched up the path.  _One foot in front of the other, V,_ She told herself, casting her gaze to Garrus on the way up and feeling herself relax a little. They'd figure this out, and even if the situation was bad, they'd figure out how to set things right again. His mandibles flared in a little, reassuring smile as she passed him, and Venus found it in herself to smile back.

 

Hackett was already waiting for them, standing at the door to his office. He waved them over, and Shepard jogged up the last bit of hill, quick to salute as she skidded to a stop in front of him. She could feel Garrus' presence beside her, and she glanced to see that he was standing awkwardly, hands behind his back, not sure whether or not to salute as well. What even  _was_ the chain of command right now?

 

"At ease," Hackett said, and she relaxed, mind already buzzing with a thousand questions. "We have intel proving that the Blue Suns have allied with any remaining Batarian troops and are looking to take Earth while we're still regrouping. It's bold, and we don't know why they think they have the firepower to pull this off, but-"

  
"I interrogated a Blue Sun on the way here," Shepard interjected, and she almost felt like a child in class with the right answer. Now that she'd been out of combat for so long, she was desperate for approval. 'Long' being a week, but hell, she was used to firefights on a daily. She was practically  _stir crazy._ "He said Aria's been usurped. Something about Thortar...?" 

 

Hackett's face lit up with recognition, and he nodded. "Old military general. I thought he'd left the service..."

 

"The mercenary acted like he was leading the hegemony," Garrus added, and Hackett's brow furrowed. "I know. Doesn't sound good."

 

"No, it doesn't. I'm glad to see you both are still kicking, though. We're going to need your kind of crazy." The admiral turned to meet her eyes, and she narrowed hers at him - she was still a little sour about the fact that he'd had her under watch for the past week. How long did she need to have teams of nurses watching her every move? She was up. She was fine. If this was pre-war, they would have done surgery and expected her at lights up the next day. She hated getting treated like she was  _special_.

 

"Us?  _Crazy?_ I think you have the wrong men for that, Admiral." Garrus chuckled under his breath and Shepard had to admit she found it a little funny. Stuff like this felt like everyday occurrences, especially on the Normandy. She originally thought it might be the vessel itself, but she had come to rest with the fact that it was just  _her_. Danger just seemed to follow her everywhere - that, and she was plenty eager to stick her nose in it. 

 

"Either way," Hackett continued, "We need you to get into the station, then. We can handle things here. Most of the ground forces got gunned down once they shuttled to the surface." That explained why they hadn't seen any troops other than that lone mercenary. Going all the way out to Omega, though...

 

"How are we going to get there? And how do we know Omega's still their base?" FTL travel was back up, or so she'd heard, but the relays were still kaput. Getting there might take months.

 

"The Normandy isn't up and running yet, but we managed to outfit another Alliance frigate for you and your crew to take out there. Your crew's idea to use quantum entanglement to accelerate travel was dangerous, but it allowed us to modify the SSV Hasting's drive core for extreme speeds with the technology. Just be glad your crew didn't get ripped apart at a molecular level." Shepard glanced over at Garrus and found himself standing straight, chest swelling with pride. They almost got themselves killed, but... she would have done to same to get back in the action. Bastards had all taken a chip off of her shoulder. The name of that ship, though... it rung a bell. 

 

"The Hastings... that's Anderson's old vessel. It's still spaceworthy?" Her chest ached as she thought of him - his body was probably ashes, now, blown to bits as the Citadel exploded. She had hoped she would have been able to find a decent place to memorialize him, but... there was no time now. Never any time. 

 

"It is," Hackett confirmed. "It got a little beat up during the battle for Earth, but she's been repaired and heavily modified. It'll be a few hours until she's completely ready, but we need you out as soon as possible. Gather your crew and meet me back here at fourteen hundred."

 

Shepard checked the time on her omni-tool - a little after twelve. They had a little under two hours to find whoever they wanted with them on the Hastings. She made a little list in her head - Chakwas, Joker, Tali, Gabby and Kenneth, Liara, Traynor, maybe even Javik, if he wanted to come... Ashley and James... they needed to move fast. Shepard looked up at Garrus and he just gave her a knowing look.

 

"We have a lot of work to do." His voice was flat, almost... disappointed.

 

Shepard just sighed, her heart sinking. Back to the grind, she supposed. "Yeah. That we do. Let's move."


End file.
